Commentary: Sixers will have to rebuild at the right price

There are dollars and cents, and then there’s common sense. Thaddeus Young likes the former, but prefers the latter.

The 76ers forward has played his way out a rookie deal and into his first contract. He has gone from reserve to starter to team captain. He has had four coaches in six seasons. And he’s about to learn the idiosyncracies of a fifth. He knows the business side of the NBA — that nothing is guaranteed, that nothing is etched in stone, that entities like structure and comfort exist only in dreams.

So as Young and the Sixers wrapped up their regular season with a win in Indianapolis the other night, Young couldn’t help but think about what’s coming up next.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe a trip to Disney World with my son.”

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File that one under ‘Responses No One Expected.’

As unwilling as Young may have been to discuss the next stage of his career with the Sixers, even he — one of the more candid talkers in their locker room — had to accept the inevitable: Next year might very well be one of rebuilding.

The Sixers, who launched their offseason Thursday with player exit interviews at their PCOM practice facility, are staring at the numbers Young doesn’t like mentioning. They have seven expiring contracts and only roughly $12 million in cap space with which to load the roster.

Finding a marquee player at that price, one who can fill seats and the win column, will be daunting.

Once believed to be well under the salary cap for the 2013-14 season, which is likely to be set in the ballpark of $60 million, the Sixers are not nearly as financially flexibile. The escalator in Jrue Holiday’s contract takes the point guard’s salary from $2 million to $11 million. Young’s pay is in the vicinity of $8.5 million. Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes will make in excess of $6.5 million.

What does all of that mean? In a word: limitations.

“Realistically, it could take more than one season,” Sixers owner Josh Harris said, of his team’s turnaround.

Expected to make a run at bringing back Andrew Bynum next season, the Sixers do not have the means to offer the center — the owner of two bum knees and one expiring contract — a max deal. To keep him in-house, they have to hope Bynum will accept one of two things: less years or less money … or feel some shred of remorse for never having played a game in a Sixers uniform.

They hope Kwame Brown, who was cemented to the bench for the final 30 games for his lack of fitness and effort, declines a tantalizing $3 million player option and prefers a mutual buyout. That’s highly unlikely. Then there’s the elephant in the room with Jason Richardson, whose left-knee surgery will likely sideline the shooting guard — a $6.2 million salary-cap hindrance — until at least January.

In other words, addressing their needs (post player, anyone?) will be challenging.

“I’d probably say this is one of the biggest changes ever, if Coach (Doug Collins) is not here or Rod (Thorn, the Sixers’ outgoing president) is not here,” Young said. “I’m sure they’ll decide to make major moves and it’ll be another rebuilding stage for us. I think I’ve been a part of two rebuilding stages for us. Probably two too many. It’s part of the game. It’s a business man’s league and they’ll either follow the money or follow their heart to put a good team out there.”

The Sixers have an OK core, certainly not one that will break the turnstiles at Wells Fargo Center. There are pieces around which to build. Rookie Arnett Moultrie showed his value down the stretch. Lavoy Allen never did. Both are under contract. If Dorell Wright, Damien Wilkins and Justin Holiday can be had at the right prices, sign them up, too.

And somewhere between the checkbook balancing and decision-making and the coach searching and whatever else comes their way, Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo will have to find the missing piece.